Enmity of Atlas

Two servants opened the door, allowing a stream of guests to enter the reception hall, a massive pillared room with a marvelous grand staircase leading further into the house. One by one, the guests, adorned in beautiful masks, gowns, and suits, politely entered the premises, greeting the Boulreguards by the door, before spreading like ants all across the room-beholden to nothing beyond their own whims. Servants holding platters with the finest drinks Theodore could get his hands on passed them out to guests who delighted in the expected generosity. Once everyone had entered, some hundred people in all, the doors were closed, and everyone was given half an hour to mingle and drink to their heart's content before the dinner was to begin.

Trenton masterfully made his way through the crowd, taking time to speak to guests of particular honor, as was his duty. He was well trained in the art of aristocracy, despite his insistence that the whole thing was meaningless–the prestige and honor–so he had no issues playing the part of the perfect noble child. Still, as Trenton glanced around the room, he couldn't’ help but notice the air of presumed authority that hung in the air, as if each guest thought themself more important than the next, a cycle which only circled indefinitely around. It was all pointless. Maybe if anyone present had actually earned their wealth, instead of being born into it, then he would think otherwise. But, that was sadly not the case. In fact, the only family here that had ever known what it meant to be poor, was the Boulreguards and the Fairfelts. Trenton still vividly remembered nights spent hungry and wanting, but those days were far behind him now. Shaking his head to rid himself of any thoughts which might distract him from the current moment, Trenton took a moment to gauge the audience attending the ball, his eyes eventually settling on the duke standing across the way with his entourage of ever loyal noble slaves. Trentons mood soured, thinking now of the great duke of Aria.

There was one person amidst the noble crowd who was actually supposed to have no inherited earthly connections–the dukes. Typically, the duke of the city was the great protector in place of the nation's king who resides within the capital city, meaning to gain a seat of power, one must be a proper leader as well as an excellent fighter. However, through some underhanded form of treachery, the current duke–Sir Tiev Plagrid–came into power. Maybe it was lechery. Maybe it was nepotism. Whatever the case, he was the only man in the world that was truly unbefitting of his title, never having even seen a fight in his life. No, the only thing Tiev knew how to do was embezzle public funds under the table while no one was able to do anything about it. He wasn’t even good at it, either. Every noble in the room knew what he was doing, but because he paid off the most elite among them, it was far too risky to oppose him.

It was a wonder that the Conqueror hadn't stepped in to remove him from his seat yet. Aria could certainly have used the good fortune. But no, they were without such luck. So, no matter how much Trenton hated the duke, or how much he wished his father would take a public stand against him, he couldn’t do anything against Tiev at this moment. It was best to keep up appearances, stay fresh and sharp, even while the tub of lard gouged himself on his 7th glass of champagne in the last 10 minutes–7th glass of champagne that Theodore personally paid for. Were Trenton to have it his way, he wouldn’t even so much as glance in the duke's direction. Unfortunately, as the son of the hosting family, he was expected to be of nearly divine etiquette. Lilly wasn’t of much concern given how young she is, and Delis wasn’t a sitting member of the Boulreguard household, so it fell on Trenton's shoulders as the eldest heir of the Boulreguard name to be a suiting figurehead.

With an acrid taste in his mouth,Trenton started to make his way over to the duke to make some polite chatter. As he moved, Trenton glanced over at Lilly, who was talking to some of the younger guests. Good, it looked like she was distracted. For the most part, Lilly did a pretty good job appearing couth and refined. She was well behaved and generally mild mannered, but it was mostly Delis’s influence that kept her calm. She was well behaved for their father and mother, well enough, anyway, but she had always been particularly fond of Delis. Most of the time, she would even listen to him more than their parents. The real problem started when Delis was away and they had to try getting her into her gown for the evening without her squirming away. It took them 2 hours the last time they tried–a nightmare that will hopefully never be repeated.

Trenton slowed behind Delis talking to a group of older nobles, tapping him discreetly on the thigh. Now that Delis was well rested and awake, he was actually quite the attraction. Noblemen who have traveled the plains were a rare sight, and especially one as handsome as Delis. Frankly, the older women fawned over him, while the older men sat somewhere between envy and hatred. But that was only half the story. Some noblemen respected and appreciated those of their ilk willing to risk traveling the plains. However, most labeled those that choose to leave behind their wealth and status as traitors–filth unbefitting of even the dirtiest rags. As Delis stood talking to the former half, the latter half mingled about, glaring at him as if he were devil spawn. It left an odd sense of tension in the air, one that hung indefinitely around him.

“One minute,” Trenton whispered as he passed Delis, speeding up to fall back into his earlier stride. It was a long standing agreement between Delis and Trenton that if Trenton had to talk to the duke, Delis would interrupt in a specific amount of time indicated by Trenton, so as to get him out of lengthy conversations. Typically, it would be considered rude to leave one conversation for another, but given that Delis was Trenton's brother, who also happened to rarely be in town, he was given more slack than everyone else, at least by the crowd that sees his deeds favorably. In that way, he was kind of like the nobles puppy.

Disgusting

It wasn’t Delis’s fault, of course. He was only doing what needed to be done in order to keep the peace. Things would go south pretty quick if he didn’t, so he nobally bit his tongue, and played the part–an act of true humility.

Trenton slipped his way through the duke's entourage, brushing past the man he saw earlier in Collies, making his way through until he was face to face with the ugly bastard himself. Or rather, chest to face. The duke stood far shorter than Trenton, making him both morally and genetically inferior.

“What a wonderful evening it is, isn’t it sir?” Trenton extended his hand to shake. “On behalf of my father, we are absolutely delighted to have such distinguished company grace us this evening.”

The duke slightly turned to face Trenton fully. “Huh, oh right,” he used his right hand to shake Trenton's, using his left to hold a tobacco pipe up to his lips until one of his loyal dogs lit it for him. “Of course you are. Who wouldn’t be?” He let out a hearty chuckle, slightly prodding Trenton's stomach. Such behavior would typically be seen as barbaric, touching another in such a haphazard manner, but he was the duke; and, the duke gets to do whatever he wants. Trenton pretended to laugh along, wiping his, now wet, palm against his pants. The duke took a nice long puff of his pipe, attempting to blow a cloud of smoke into Trentons face, but Trenton cleverly shifted his weight to avoid the blast. “Say, boy. What do you make of these refreshments? I would say the champagne is absolutely divine,” he grabbed his glass from one of the surrounding nobles, holding it out to Trenton with one eyebrow pitched up.

The duke knew full fucking well that Trenton preferred not to drink. Surely, he was allowed to do so. He wasn’t that young. But, he had never had a taste for alcohol, far preferring sobriety to a drunken stupor. Because of how good of a reputation he had as a nobleman, typically no one even bothered him for not drinking, despite how odd it was. No one except the duke, the one man exempt from all rules.

“Why, I wouldn’t know sir. I’m not personally fond of liquor's influences on the mi-”

“Bah! Nonsense! Every man loves his liquor. You just haven't had enough to realize that yet,” the duke responded resolutely, shoving the glass into Trenton's hand. He wouldn’t force it, would he? But as Trenton hesitated, he noticed the dozen or so nobles around him eyeing him with a sort of threatening gaze–the sort of gaze that said he had no choice in the matter. The duke's words were law. No one could defy him.

“Excuse me, sir. I’m so sorry to interrupt, but, if you don’t mind, could I borrow Trenton for a moment?” Thank the gods, it was Delis. it had not even been 30 seconds, but he must have been monitoring the deteriorating situation and decided to step in. Trenton politely held the glass out for someone else to take while preparing a faux comment to loosen the tension. But before he could say anything, the duke pushed Trenton's arms back in, getting even closer now.

“I do mind actually,” the duke said, taking his pipe out of his mouth, “Trenton was just about to show us exactly what kind of men the Boulreguards are,” he pushed the glass closer to Trenton's face.

“Sir, I must insis-” Delis began

“YOU WILL INSIST NOTHING!” the duke fumed, suddenly turning on Delis, “What kind of nobleman goes running off to the plains the second he gets the chance!? Does shirking your duties and responsibilities sound fun to you!? Does your family name mean nothing to you!? And don’t even get me started on those dogs you always travel with–filth not even worthy the bottom of my shoes,” the duke took a step forward, leaning in close to Delis.

Wrath

Not Trenton's, but Delis’s. His eyes burned with a fury fit to see a man dead, his nose scrunched up, and his whole body tense like he was a tiger about to pounce. Of course, this was what it was all about, wasn't it? Delis forsook his noble name to help the people of the world. He saw what was broken and desired only to fix it. To nearly anyone, he would be named a hero. But to an entitled bastard like Tiev, Delis’s good nature was nothing but a threat.

The room had fallen silent, everyone's eyes locked on Tiev, Trenton, and Delis. Even Tiev’s entourage had backed away to give the three room, not daring to contest the duke’s will. Tiev’s shouting and insults had brought this wonderful night of celebrating the city's fine aristocracy to a crashing halt–all before it could even begin. Maybe wrestling in mud pits would be the next event at this rate.

“Delis! Trenton! You should know better than to reprimand our glorious duke!” Theodore came barging in between Delis and Tiev, giving Delis a stern look. He turned to Tiev, “I am so sorry sir. I thought I had trained these boys better. I will reprimand them severely for their behavior. Please forgive us,” Theodore said, grabbing Trenton and Delis who both mumble out lame apologies.

“Hmph. Yes, you’d be well to keep those two under control. I’d be ashamed to have sons like those,” the duke turned away from the three of them, waltzing off to harass another patron. Slowly, ever so slowly, the low hum of conversation returned to the room, tentative now after the interruption.

Theodore grabbed the two boys, leading them away into another room, where they spoke freely. “What the hell happened out there?” Theodore said intently.

“He was trying to force me to drink. Delis tried to interrupt. That’s about the whole of it. Hell, I would have just taken the glass if I’d known he blow up over it,” Trenton said, hands clenched into fists in his lap.

Theodore let out a sigh, working stress out of his tense shoulders. “I thought you were about to kill that man, Delis…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how much his resentment had built up while you were gone. I should have been paying more attention. At least now, you both have excuses to avoid him for the rest of the night. Please take care to do so, if you can. I’d like to avoid another scene…for everyone's sake.”

“I ought to have killed him. If Brus were allowed to be with us he probably would have…whatever. I’ll be back later. I need to distract myself with something right now,” Delis responded, the fire never leaving his eyes as he left the room.

“...to think Tiev would go after his companions. Especially given that he knows full well several of them have died protecting others,” Theodore said, rubbing his face. “I don’t imagine we’ll have Delis for dinner, then, at least not most of it…I’m going to go start my speech to the crowd. I had hoped to save it for dinner, but it seems I’ll need to reinvigorate the crowd. Please stay here until dinner is called. You can collect yourself however you need in the meantime. Oh, and I’ll take that glass,” Theodore grabbed the glass from Trenton's hand, gave him a slight nod, and headed back into the reception hall.

Trenton took a seat on a stray chair sitting in the small side room, taking time to ruminate on what just happened. He’d always dreamed of superseding the duke, giving people the rightful leader they need. But, if he wanted to do that, he would need to actually be a fighter. So, he asked his father to find him a trainer. It was then that Theadore met Walibeld who offered to train Trenton at hardly any cost at all. It seemed like a dream deal, and turned out to be one, too. Walibeld was experienced, strong, and able. If anyone could teach Trenton to be a city's leader, he could. They just needed more time.

After a couple minutes of listening to the dull chatter from the room over, and reminiscing on days long past, Trenton heard the door creak back open and in stepped Staria and Leo.

“Damn, didn’t think the fatty would go off like that in public. I’m pretty sure I saw his fat rolls jiggling through his trenchcoat,” Staria said as the two of them found seats in the room near Trenton.

Trenton laughed, the stress peeling away from his body. “That so? I was too busy staring at that ugly bald spot on the top of his head to notice.”

Both of them looked at Leo, waiting for his quip. “Uhhhhh…uhhhhh…I didn’t prepare for this…he's bad, I guess?” He said meekly. Trenton slung his arm over Leo’s shoulders, pulling them together.

“Well said, brother! Can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself,” Trenton laughed.

“Sorry…you were both looking at me and I panicked,” Leo said, sinking even lower into his chair.

“No, no, that was good! Hell, I’m feeling inspired!” Staria eyed the room, finally landing on a pad of paper and a pen to start scribbling down some rather uncouth things about the duke.

For the next 15 minutes, the three of them laughed and enjoyed themselves. In a way, they’d managed to create their own personal ball in this little side room of the Boulreguard manor, not dissimilar to their meal earlier today. But, all good things must come to an end. A servant opened the door, motioning for the three to follow him. They left the room to see the guests following Theodore into a grand hallway behind the staircase, along which was the dining room. The three of them slipped into line, leaving everyone none the wiser that they were even gone at all.